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\\u2013 I first eat a donut and then listen to some English to motivate myself.

\\u2013 I see. That\\u2019s why you\\u2019re so fat. So, how\\u2019s your English?

\\u2013 Good, good. A donut?

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of\\xa0SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

Today, I\\u2019m going to talk about\\xa0managing your English learning time.

Next, you will practice your speaking with a mini-story.\\xa0

But before we start, please visit my website,\\xa0SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast\\xa0to get the transcript of this episode. It\\u2019s completely free.

Very good. Have you ever wondered how to find more time to do something? I ask myself that all the time. In fact, I think time runs away from me, and I don\\u2019t have time to chase it.

The truth is time flies. And it flies for everyone. We always have something to do in today\\u2019s society, and there is never time for anything. But don\\u2019t despair. Even in these circumstances, you can\\xa0find a good strategy to learn English.

As you know, my system is based on\\xa0listening. Therefore, it is a significant advantage since you can take the lessons wherever you want on your mobile, tablet, or laptop. There is no need to sit in front of the computer and start studying.

In fact, I think very few people can do that consistently.

So, today, I\\u2019m going to give you some ideas about\\xa0managing your English learning time.

#1 Free time during the day

We waste many minutes that we could be putting to good use throughout the day. The list is endless: driving the car; waiting in line at the bank; cleaning the house; walking the dog; ironing, etc.

If you add up all those minutes, you might be surprised how much time is wasted.

So, it\\u2019s a good idea to try to make the most of all this free time.

One objection I sometimes get is the following:\\xa0

You can\\u2019t be 100% focused if you\\u2019re doing something else, like driving a car.

Yes, it\\u2019s true that you may not be fully focused, but let me tell you a secret. Your brain is always learning, even if you don\\u2019t always pay close attention. For example, if you listen to a song without paying attention, you may later hum the melody without realizing it.

Let\\u2019s say you listen for 1,000 hours during a year. 200 hours at full concentration. 500 hours at medium concentration and another 300 hours at low concentration.

You will have listened for 700 hours at high or medium concentration, which is not bad at all. And even if you\\u2019re not paying much attention during those 300 hours, they\\u2019re still useful.

Think of it this way: When you learned your native language, you weren\\u2019t 100% focused every time you heard something\\u2014many times, you weren\\u2019t paying attention.

When I learned Spanish, I spent a lot of time listening. And I wasn\\u2019t always focused, but I accumulated hours and hours of listening, and I got much better over time.

#2 Small daily actions have a massive impact over time.

One day, I heard this idea. A person was complaining that he didn\\u2019t have time to read. He hadn\\u2019t opened a book in years. So, someone made this reasoning to him:

\\u201cLet\\u2019s say you only spend 10 minutes a day reading. Maybe 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening. I think that\\u2019s a very modest goal. Let\\u2019s do the math. If you take 1 minute to read one page, that\\u2019s 10 pages a day. A month has 30 days, so you would read 300 pages. This is roughly equivalent to an average-sized book.\\xa0

Reading one book per month equals 12 books per year. Over five years, that would be 60 books. So, imagine now that you go to a library and pick out 60 books. This would be what you would have learned, just by reading 10 minutes a day in 5 years.\\u201d

I find the idea fascinating, as it shows in a very simple way how much time you can accumulate by devoting it to one thing consistently.\\xa0I usually recommend at least an hour a day of listening, but if you can\\u2019t, you can listen less. Over time, you will realize how much you are learning.

#3 It\\u2019s a matter of priority

A friend of mine once told me: \\u201cYou always find time for things that are a priority for you, and you never find time for things that are not.\\u201d

Interesting reflection. If it is a priority, you will always find the time. Saying that\\xa0we don\\u2019t have time\\xa0is something very recurrent. And it allows us to feel better when we are not doing something we are supposed to be doing.

So, one way to find the time is to reevaluate your priorities.

Ok. Now it\\u2019s time for you to practice your speech with a mini-story.

By the way, if you want to know how to\\xa0speak English\\xa0using the right techniques, visit SpeakEnglishPodcast.com and\\xa0subscribe\\xa0to my mailing list.\\xa0I will send you my\\xa05-day video course,\\xa0so you can\\xa0learn how to speak English fluently.\\xa0And it\\u2019s completely free.

Get the transcript on my website: https://SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast